Debunking the Myth - Manchester City have the biggest squad in the Premier League

Image courtesy of channelstv.com

"Manchester City have the biggest squad in the league" and "It is impossible to compete with Manchester City's squad" are two of the most annoying perceptions you see frequently spread by so called football experts.

It is so frustrating to hear bitter rival fans use this as an excuse for every single bit of success City have, even more so when it is a presenter or pundit. "2 world class players in every position, how could we possibly compete?" says the fan of the team with a larger squad than City. Even former player Gael Clichy used this excuse, after City beat his former club Arsenal 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, as a reason why the reigning champions would go on to retain the Premier League.

But, ultimately, it is a whole load of rubbish.

City do currently have a 23 man squad, plus some youngsters who will train with the first team on occasion, so it is true to say that they have 2 players for every position. Even then, however, it is quite tenuous, and it'd be absolutely ludicrous to suggest that each of these 23 players is world class.

Here is City's squad, listed with 2 players in each position (with 3 goalkeepers the exception:)

GK: Ederson, Stefan Ortega-Moreno, Scott Carson

RB: Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis

RCB: Manuel Akanji, John Stones

LCB: Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte

LB: Sergio Gomez, Nathan Ake

CDM: Rodri, Kalvin Phillips

RCM: Kevin de Bruyne, Maximo Perrone

LCM: Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva

RW: Riyad Mahrez, Cole Palmer

ST: Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez

LW: Phil Foden, Jack Grealish

But ultimately, this doesn't tell the full story.

4 of City's outfield players (Phillips, Perrone, Gomez and Palmer) have played fewer than 900 minutes this season, which is approximately 10 full games. Considering City have played 48 games this season, this shows that these players can't fully be relied upon to be consistent rotation members of the squad. It doesn't seem like a big deal at first, but this equates to 20% of City's outfield players.

And there are very few positions where both players could be classified as properly "world class." Centre forward, left wing, left centre back and left central midfield are probably the only positions, and even then, that depends on your definition of "world class." Some would argue that "world class" counts as the inside the best 5 players in the world in their position, in which case, City wouldn't have 2 world class players for any position.

An example of what a truly big squad would look like is Chelsea. Since new owner Todd Boehly took over, they have spent around £600 million in just two transfer windows, on the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Myhkalo Mudryk, Marc Cucurella, Benoit Badisahile, Joao Felix, Kalidou Koulibaly and former City player Raheem Sterling.

Of that list, Mudryk, Fernandez and Cucurella, in particular, were in high demand, wanted by most big clubs in Europe. The best example is Mudryk, who looked set for a move to Arsenal, before Chelsea swooped in to hijack the deal. Arsenal were deemed to either be incapable / didn't want to pay the £88.5 million price tag that Shaktar Donetsk wanted to sell him for. If it had been City who'd come in, waving their money around to take him away from a club with less money, it'd have been a completely different story amongst the press and opposition fanbases, as it fits the narrative a lot more.

Chelsea now have a 33 man squad, with more players out on loan for development purposes (such as Lewi Colwill at Brighton and Ian Maatsen at Burnley) or because they couldn't get in the squad (such as Romelu Lukaku at Inter Milan, Callum Hudson-Odoi at Bayer Leverkusen and Malang Sarr at Monaco)

Using the same strategy as used above for City's squad, here is what Chelsea's squad looks like, using a 3-4-3 formation:

GK: Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, Gabriel Slolina

RCB: Wesley Fofana Trevoh Chalobah

CB: Thiago Silva, Kalidou Koulibaly

LCB: Benoit Badisahile, Marc Cucurella

RWB: Reece James, Cesar Azpilicueta

RCM: Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ngolo Kante, Connor Gallagher, Denis Zakaria

LCM: Enzo Fernandes, Mateo Kovacic, Carney Chukuwemeka

LWB: Ben Chilwell, Lewis Hall

RW: Noni Madueke, Hakim Ziyech, Raheem Sterling

ST: Pierre-Emmerick Aubameyang, Kai Havertz, Armando Broja, David Datro Fofana, Joao Felix

LW: Myhkalo Mudryk, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Omari Hutchinson

Clearly, there is a huge difference here. Chelsea's bloated squad has caused them huge problems this season, as the Blues lie in 11th place in the Premier League. They're on their third manager this season, in former manager Frank Lampard, and are closer to the bottom 3 of the Premier League than the top 4.

The other club with a bloated squad is Nottingham Forest, who's poor run of form currently leaves them looking at fighting relegation. Brighton and Hove Albion and Arsenal, two of the Premier League's most overachieving teams this season, have a 25 man and 23 man squad respectively.

All 3 clubs, City in particular, have a squad of versatile players, making it seem like they have more players than they actually do. This is why many rival fans complain about City's huge squad: they fail to realise that the vast majority of their players can play in at least 2 players.

Now let's repeat the list of City's squad, this time, however, listing the multiple positions they can play in, as opposed to just the one. It could be a position they've played in before for City, or for a previous club:

GK: Ederson, Stefan Ortega-Moreno, Scott Carson

RB: Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Manuel Akanji

RCB: Manuel Akanji, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, Rodri, Kalvin Phillips

LCB: Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Rodri

LB: Sergio Gomez, Nathan Ake, Bernardo Silva, Aymeric Laporte, Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji

CDM: Rodri, Kalvin Phillips, Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Rico Lewis, Maximo Perrone

RCM: Kevin de Bruyne, Maximo Perrone, Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez, Ilkay Gundogan, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Kalvin Phillips, Rico Lewis

LCM: Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Cole Palmer, Sergio Gomez, Maximo Perrone

RW: Riyad Mahrez, Cole Palmer, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez, Sergio Gomez

ST: Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden, Kevin de Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Cole Palmer, Bernardo Silva

LW: Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Cole Palmer, Bernardo Silva, Sergio Gomez

As you can see, this makes for a much larger squad, one that rival fans will look at and use as evidence for their claims. Buying versatile players is not a crime; it is very useful to have a smaller squad for one main reason.

Having versatile players in a smaller squad means there is much more game time available, and every player knows they're only a few good games away from being given an extended run in the team.

Who, at the start of the season, would have thought that Nathan Ake would be consistently starting over Aymeric Laporte? Or that they'd see Manuel Akanji start over Kyle Walker in two Champions League quarter finals, where the opposition have numerous fast forwards? And that vast majority of City fans wouldn't even had heard of Rico Lewis this time last year, never mind predicting he'd practically force star full back Joao Cancelo out of the club.

The other brilliant thing about the small squad system is that a matchday squad of 20 can now be listed, meaning just 3 senior players would miss out, one of whom would likely be Scott Carson, City's third choice goalkeeper. This means that we'd be almost certain to see at least 2 of Cole Palmer, Maximo Perrone, Rico Lewis and Sergio Gomez in the City squad: all of whom are promising young players who would thrive with minutes playing in the senior team.

If City were comfortably winning, say 3-0 or 4-0 with an hour gone, then there'd be a huge opportunity to give some key players a rest, and give these players a chance to play, and gain experience on the biggest stage. And, if things aren't going well, then City can turn to the likes of Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden or Riyad Mahrez to try and change the game.

And each player, with only a few exceptions (e.g. Mr Cancelo) gets enough playing time to keep them content at the club. This works well, especially for City, as success and trophies are almost guaranteed if you were to play for the clubs for a few seasons, especially whilst Pep Guardiola remains as manager.

The main disadvantage comes, however, when injuries strike.

An injury to Bernardo Silva would mean losing a regular option at central midfield, left back and right wing. Bernardo has never had a serious injury in a City shirt, however, it is a possibility that can never be ruled out.

Right now, City face the real prospect of an extended period on the side lines for Nathan Ake, due to a hamstring injury, meaning City only have a few options at left back. Aymeric Laporte would be the obvious answer, but he's had very few minutes this season, so will understandably be rusty.

Guardiola could turn to the likes of Sergio Gomez, Rico Lewis or Bernardo Silva to deputise there, but that wouldn't fit in with the current system. Guardiola likes to have the left sided member of his back 3 in possession system as a left footer, and there's no way that could work without Laporte in the team. He could play a back 4 (from right to left) of Stones-Dias-Laporte-Bernardo, but this would seem very harsh on Akanji, and it could be argued this limits John Stones' ball playing skills, to not have as the defender that drops into midfield.

This is a clear example of where City's choice to have a small squad limits them. Bernardo can play at left back, but, without Ake next to him, it's unlikely we'll see it see often especially against the likes of Real Madrid. I would also be very surprised if we saw Palmer, Phillips, Lewis, Gomez or Perrone start another game this season, yet those players are classed as members of the already small 23 man squad.

This is the case for holding midfield also. There are technically 7 players who could play there, but, ultimately, it's the position that'd be most lacking if we were to see a serious injury to Rodri. Guardiola has admitted himself that Kalvin Phillips doesn't yet fit in the system, and it's unlikely we'd ever see Stones, Bernardo, Perrone or Lewis given an extended amount of game time there.

This only leaves one alternative: Ilkay Gundogan. Move him back to defensive midfield, and City are then an option short in central midfield.

If Chelsea were to sustain an injury to an important player, let's say, Ben Chilwell, then he has a ready made replacement in Marc Cucurella. As well as him, we've seen many players fill in at left wing back for Chelsea this season, including the likes of Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling, with youngster Lewis Hall able to deputise too.

This system clearly has it's advantages and disadvantages. Many opposition fans will argue that City having a larger squad than their club is the main reason behind City's continued success. But City in fact have the joint smallest squad in the Premier League. Considering the fate's of Chelsea and Nottingham Forest this season, is that City's secret to success?

We'll see in the final weeks of the season. City are fighting on 3 fronts, as perhaps the favourites in every one of those competitions. Their squad will be tested to the limits; can they pass the ultimate test and have a history defining season? Whatever happens, Guardiola's philosophy of keeping a small squad, and rival fans' constant insistence of City's huge squad, will continue next season and beyond.